As the subtitle indicates, an exploration of the collaborative efforts of five author-illustrator pairs (and in one case, triad). Children’s publishing chronicler Marcus (Author Talk, 2000, etc.) devotes individual chapters to Arthur Yorinks and Richard Egielski; Martin and Alice Provensen; Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, and Molly Leach; Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney; and Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. While the work focuses on the evolution of one specific work for each team, it also presents overviews of their respective careers together. Reproductions of artists’ dummies and excerpts from successive drafts combine with interviews with the team members to illustrate and explain the unique ways each team approaches its work. The never-patronizing text is direct and cogent, offering valuable insights about the many different ways children’s book creators (and editors) approach their projects. Scieszka and Smith exchange ideas over games of Ping-Pong, for instance, but Cole presents Degen with a finished text, complete with dialogue balloon instructions (although he is able to assign the dialogue to many of the secondary characters according to his own instincts). Altogether engaging, this offering is nevertheless not exactly the sort of book children flock to of their own accord. It will, however, nicely complement guided explorations of children’s book creation, and the inclusion of two of the most popular teams with children will guarantee its appeal to the kids who do encounter it. And, of course, adults who work with children’s books will delight in this glimpse into the creative process. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10+)
Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8027-8778-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2001
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live.
In a similarly hefty companion to Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods (2014), the most voluble of Poseidon’s many sons dishes on a dozen more ancient relatives and fellow demigods.
Riordan averts his young yarn spinner’s eyes from the sex but not the stupidity, violence, malice, or bad choices that drive so many of the old tales. He leavens full, refreshingly tart accounts of the ups and downs of such higher-profile heroes as Theseus, Orpheus, Hercules, and Jason with the lesser-known but often equally awesome exploits of such butt-kicking ladies as Atalanta, Otrera (the first Amazon), and lion-wrestling Cyrene. In thought-provoking contrast, Psyche comes off as no less heroic, even though her story is less about general slaughter than the tough “Iron Housewives quests” Aphrodite forces her to undertake to rescue her beloved Eros. Furthermore, along with snarky chapter heads (“Phaethon Fails Driver’s Ed”), the contemporary labor includes references to Jay-Z, Apple Maps, god-to-god texting, and the like—not to mention the way the narrator makes fun of hard-to-pronounce names and points up such character flaws as ADHD (Theseus) and anger management issues (Hercules). The breezy treatment effectively blows off at least some of the dust obscuring the timeless themes in each hero’s career. In Rocco’s melodramatically murky illustrations, men and women alike display rippling thews and plenty of skin as they battle ravening monsters.
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live. (maps, index) (Mythology. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8365-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A world-class charmer, Clements (The Janitor’s Boy, 2000, etc.) woos aspiring young authors—as well as grown up publishers, editors, agents, parents, teachers, and even reviewers—with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a 12-year-old novelist’s triumphant debut. Sparked by a chance comment of her mother’s, a harried assistant editor for a (surely fictional) children’s imprint, Natalie draws on deep reserves of feeling and writing talent to create a moving story about a troubled schoolgirl and her father. First, it moves her pushy friend Zoe, who decides that it has to be published; then it moves a timorous, second-year English teacher into helping Zoe set up a virtual literary agency; then, submitted pseudonymously, it moves Natalie’s unsuspecting mother into peddling it to her waspish editor-in-chief. Depicting the world of children’s publishing as a delicious mix of idealism and office politics, Clements squires the manuscript past slush pile and contract, the editing process, and initial buzz (“The Cheater grabs hold of your heart and never lets go,” gushes Kirkus). Finally, in a tearful, joyous scene—carefully staged by Zoe, who turns out to be perfect agent material: cunning, loyal, devious, manipulative, utterly shameless—at the publication party, Natalie’s identity is revealed as news cameras roll. Selznick’s gnomic, realistic portraits at once reflect the tale’s droll undertone and deftly capture each character’s distinct personality. Terrific for flourishing school writing projects, this is practical as well as poignant. Indeed, it “grabs hold of yourheart and never lets go.” (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82594-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
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